Read Aloud

Read Aloud — The Vault Opens

Hydraulic locks strike in sequence. Frost rolls across the floor as the containment vault opens.

Two people stand inside, thin from confinement and dressed in identical gray medical wraps. Heavy restraint collars circle their throats, each ring bright with pulsing blue indicators. Separate floor anchors keep them several feet apart.

An Onyx restraint specialist steps forward and raises a biometric key. The indicator lights flash green.

Both collars release.

The specialist turns their weapon on the Onyx command element. Kaelen reaches for Vanya. She catches his hand.

The room bends.

Loose casings rise from the floor. Light stretches into blue threads. Gravity shifts around the twins as the disguised Tamsin Rooks open fire.